I Ka Hale (Home)
by Lieutenant McRollins
Summary: Lieutenant Doctor Nala Kekoa is a trauma surgeon specializing in The Navy. Nala meets Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett while on leave, just as her romance with Commander McGarrett heats up her past comes back to haunt her.
1. Hawaii

I arrived at Hickam Air Force Base at 1600 h. I felt hot in my Trauma Surgeon uniform. Hawaii was always hot. I walked down what felt like a hundred different corridors, and finally reached my cabin. I got to shower and change before I had to clock out and leave. I was on leave for a week after a year deployment. I couldn't wait to get to Waikiki and settle into my house. The last deployment took it out of me. Coronado was always rough on medics, but this year I had too many close calls with soldiers and myself that I'd rather not think about. I walked out the front doors and into the Hawaiian air, it felt so good to be home. I hailed a taxi and relaxed for the 16 minutes it took to get to Waikiki.

Once inside my house, I took my bags into the laundry room. Had to remember to wash my uniforms, the last ones I wore hadn't been washed for a couple days. I turned and went up the stairs to the guest room I let Lola sleep in when she house sits for me. She was expecting me today, I just never told her what time.I walked into the room and she was sitting in the bed catching up on college work I'm sure she'd put off the whole week. "Hey stranger!" I said and she jumped up off the bed and ran over to me and hugged me in the biggest bear hug I think I've ever had in my life.

"Hey stranger, yourself!" She said with a shit eating grinning on her face. "How are you? Was the flight okay? Didn't get too banged up over there did ya?" She was spouting words a mile a minute.

"Okay, breathe Lolo. The flight was awful like always, really uncomfortable and cramped. I am exhausted and starving. Nothing as bad as leaving by best friend for a year." I told her with a sigh. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Oh Lolo, no. I'm okay! Just happy to finally be home." I told her with a smile.

"Just every time you leave I worry, you know? I know, I know you're okay blah blah blah. But it's the damn military Nala. You couldn't be happy saving lives in a hospital?" she asked exasperated. I walked down the stairs to the kitchen and started some coffee. I got down two mugs from the cabinet and sat down at the table. Lola sat across from me for awhile just staring at me like she'd met for the very first time.

"Look Lo, you know. I know you know. You're the only one. You understand, you get me. You're the only person who stuck by me, and you called Special Agent Montgomery because you knew he would help. I have to keep doing this until I know everything. You know why I'm in the military." She was the only one who helped me when I had no one else and when I needed everyone the most. She was my best friend for a reason. She means everything to me and she needed protection as much as I did.


	2. Out In Hawaii

Lola and I decided to call it a night early and that we'd get breakfast in the morning. She cooked me my first homemade meal in a year and I swear I'd never tasted anything more amazing. My alarm blared at 6:30am, I rose up out of bed and grabbed some clothes and headed for the shower. It felt good to have a nice hot shower that lasted more than 3 minutes.I got to wash and deep condition. It's hard working in the desert when you've got thick, long hair. Granted I always wore it up, it still felt like a heat warmer on my head. I stepped out, got dress, brushed my teeth, grabbed some flip flops and headed down the stairs. Lola was sitting at the table with 2 cups of coffee at the ready after just getting out of the shower as well. We drank some coffee and headed to Wailana Coffee House for breakfast. We sat in a booth towards the back and ordered. Shortly after two very, very gorgeous men walk in and start heading right toward us.

"Danny! Steve! Hey how are you guys?" Lola gets up and hugs both of them. All could do was stare, yeah I see hot soldiers storming around all the time, but this guy he was something straight out of a girls fantasy. "Where are my manners? Dsnny, Steve, this is Nala. Nala, Steve and Danny." I rose to my feet and slid out of the booth.

"Hi, nice to meet you guys." I said while shaking Danny's hand and Steve's hand kind of lingered awhile as he stared at my shirt. "Is there something on my shirt? I haven't eaten yet but I'm sure coffee probably found it's way on there." I said kinda chuckling.

"Jesus Steve, you can't just stare at women, that's rude. What are you an animal?" Danny said. Steve just glared at him for a short while before turning back to me.

"Uh no, no. Sorry. You're in the military?" Steve asked me.

"Um, uh yes, yes. Trauma surgeon. I work with SEALs mostly, but I help out in the infirmary too when needed." I said kind of surprised. I finally noticed what he was staring at. I was wearing my training muscle shirt, with the Naval symbol on it accompanied by a stethoscope. Even though I was a medic we still had to go through combat training as much as the other guys.

"Are you still active?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I'm on leave for a week. But I put in a transfer to Pearl to be closer to home and uh closer to Lola." I said kind of shyly. I hadn't told her yet, but I suppose anytime was as good as any.

"What!? No way! Why didn't you tell me?" Lola asked a little too excitedly.

"Well the transfer hasn't gone through yet, but you know I hate leaving you alone all the time. I just wanted to make sure it was official before I told you the news."I told her.

"Hey, I have some pull in the SEALs division here and can probably speed up the process if you'd like me to that is." Steve said scratching the back of his neck.

"You're a SEAL?" I asked him.

"Well I was. I transferred to the reserves to start the task force here." He said.

"What the hell are we still doing standing? I'm starving and wanna sit down, you ladies mind if we join you?" Danny asked. I kinda liked Danny. He had a Jersey accent and seemed a little feisty.

"Yes! Definitely. Nala scoot over let the Commander sit down." She said to me. Jeez Lo, thanks for playing mom.

"Uh, sorry. We ordered but I can call Anya back out here to take your order." I told them.

"Nah, don't worry we walk in and they just make our order. Steve's got all the waitresses tied around his finger here, isn't that right buddy?" Danny said laughing. Steve shook his head and shoot an annoyed glare at Danny. I could tell they'd been friends for awhile. They were close, obviously by the way they acted. I sat there kind of just stealing glances at Steve while he and Danny told Lola about there recent case and how they'd taken down one of the Organized Crimes gangs that had been doing business here.

"So, the Navy huh? What made you want to take care of the SEALs." Steve asked me. I couldn't get over how young he was and that he was a Commander. It took me a minute to comprehend that he was asking me a question. He gave me this kind of crooked smile that made me wonder what he was real smile looked like.

"Oh um, my dad was a SEAL. I've been around them my whole life, and I've been around the water and Hawaii for as long as I can remember. Any other branch just wouldn't feel the same." I told him. "Commander huh? How long were you in active duty?" I asked him. I studied his hazel eyes that caught the light so well.

"I did Naval Intelligence for 5 years, and a SEAL for 6 years. I was better at combat than I was at intel." He said chuckling. He had the prettiest eyes, and the cutest laugh I'd heard in a long time. He was serious like a SEAL, didn't let his guard down and observed everything like we were trained to do. It was odd talking to a team mate without referring yo him as sir Commander. "What rank are you? If you don't mind me asking".

"I did intel and combat for four years before leaving to go to med school. I left at Lieutenant, once I finished my residency at Tripler Army Medical Center I worked as an attending for a year and went back into the field when they had been short on medics." I told him. He stared at me, in what I can only assume is wonder. The way he looked at me mad me blush a little.

"Yes! The food!" Lola yelped. She and Danny pretty much had the same thing. Pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs and sausage links. I ordered waffles, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. Steve ordered a ham and cheese omelet, toast, and bacon. Lola and Danny started discussing some plans to get us together for drinks sometime, I ate my food in a timely manner and Steve and I discussed my leave and what I was planning to do with it. We'd all just finished eating and Steve and Danny told us it was on them. Shortly after paying the bill Steve got a call and told Danny it was time to go.

"It was nice meeting you, Nala. I look forward to seeing you before you deploy again." Steve said with a smile that melted even the coldest of hearts.

"Nala, it was a pleasure. Sorry the animal talks too much we don't him out of the house very much." Danny said with an award winning smile. I laughed and told them thanks for joining us.

"See ya, Lo!" They both shouted over their shoulders before they raced out of the dinner and sped off to save O'ahu. I turned to Lola and stared at her with my mouth hanging wide opened. She smiled a mischievous grin at me and we started walking towards the car.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew them? Task force, really? What have you been doing since I've been gone?" I asked her laughing so much my stomach started to ache. I started the car and we headed towards Royal Hawaiian Center, I needed some new clothes for leave. My old bikinis and shorts just weren't cutting it anymore.


	3. North Shore

After a few well spent hours shopping we headed to my house to get our boards and drove up to North Shore. The swells were amazing right now and surfing was the one thing I needed to fully relax. We parked and were heading down to the water when we saw HPD and Five-O there. I noticed Steve first, it was easy he was pretty tall. Shortly after Steve was Danny and the were talking to Sargent Duke. Lola and I stuffed our boards in the sand and walked to the perimeter of the crime scene. HPD and Five-O Task Force were all standing over a washed up body of what looked like a girl in her mid twenties maybe. She had one bullet to the head, killed executioner method.

"Man Lo, all I wanted to do was surf today." I told her with an exasperated sigh. She looked at me in bewilderment. "What? I'm a doctor, an army doctor, I see this all the time. Sorry." I said. She inched a bit closer, flinched and scooted back. I inched up and noticed the bruising and ligature marks around her wrists and ankles that were signs of torture. "That poor girl Lo. Who ever did this wanted information and obviously didn't get it, or got it and were done with her." I said,

"What do you mean Nala?" She asked me. I ducked under the yellow tape and started to walk closer. Duke stopped me in my tracks.

"Nala, this is a crime scene. You can't be here." He said. I slightly nudged him away and he just let me go.

"Duke, give me some gloves please?" He gave me a pair of black gloves looking at my confused. "Steve, is your M.E. here yet?" I asked.

"Uh, no. What are you doing this is a crime scene, Nala."

"Yes, I know. But she has something in her mouth. It's slightly parted and swollen. Looks like they took out some teeth, that would explain the bruising around her jaw. But there's something slightly poking out just at the tip of her tongue." I said bending down to open her mouth and pulled out a white piece of paper. Steve and Danny moved closer to look over my shoulder. I opened it slowly and almost choked at the words. The note read: See you soon Lieutenant. I stood up and turned around. He was here. I looked all around the beach, at the hotels, the people, the food trucks, everywhere. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. " No, this doesn't make sense. How could he know where I was?" I asked myself out loud.

"Nala, what is this? What are you talking about? You need to tell me right now why you're connected to my crime scene." Steve said looking me dead in my eyes. I looked at him and I knew he could see the fear and anger. I was livid. I stopped getting notes years ago. I looked at Lola and she was already on the phone. I knew who she was calling.

"Lola, tell him there's a body on the North Shore and Five-O is investigating it like a murder and they need to know." I told her. "I need permission." I said only half aware of what was going on. She got off the phone and pulled me to the side. She shot a glance at the boys to back off for a minute. She looked at me with pity and fear. "What Lo? What's happening?".

"It's classified you know that. Montgomery is talking to his superiors right now about whether or not this needs to be handed over to the CIA. He told me to keep you here and to make sure nothing happens. He's in Maui right now so he'll be here in about an hour." She said. There was something else she wasn't telling me.

"Lola, speak." I said. I was in no mood for secrets or games.

"Montgomery said they had a lead and it was strong. Your dad's kidnapper was here about a week ago, and suddenly just disappeared. They couldn't find him, and now this pops up. Nala, it's not safe here. We're going to need to relocate." She said urgently.

"No, if he was here so was my dad. I don't believe they've killed him yet, and this just proves my point. He wants something and he's not going to stop playing this games until he gets it." I needed to sit down and think. My head was spinning and the world was getting blurry. I found a bench and sat down. I put my head between my legs and waited for the nausea and dizziness to subside. Steve walked over half pissed, half concerned. I looked up at him and for some reason I felt like I could trust him and I wanted to tell him everything but it was all so complicated. "Steve." I said in a half whisper. "I want to tell you everything but it's all so complicated and classified." I said barely audible.

"Classified as in classified? Nala, do I need to protect you?" He asked me. I looked at him and everything in me wanted to come undone. I just wanted to scream and cry.

"No, not at the moment. You need to finish this case. That girl was bound and tortured because of me and it's going to be hell trying to figure it at the moment I have orders to stay here." I told him. Lola was texting Montgomery updates every five minutes. He was always this way. We had to inform him about almost everything every five minutes. It got old pretty fast, but it's times like these I'm glad we communicated as openly as we did.

Montgomery came over to me and hugged me and sat me down. "Here's everything we know. He's using the alias Victor Petrov. He was spotted in Waikiki early last week and we sent an immediate team to ensure your house was safe. Nothing looked out of place, no bugs, cameras, weapons, threats, nothing. We don't know what he was doing we only caught him on a street camera leaving Waikiki in a black truck. We don't know how this girl ties in but with that note we have to assume all possible dangers." He told me. I looked at him, anger, resentment, rage, sadness, were all coursing through me like a bad drug.

"I can't relocate. He's here. That means my dad is here! I will not give up on my dad. He got my mom and I'll be damned if he gets my dad." I said through gritted teeth. "Micheal what are they doing about HPD and the Task Force?" I asked.

"We're going to coordinate with each other. He's become more aggressive. We're going to need to get all the help we can get. Were headed to the Palace at 1400 h to brief everybody." He told me.

"Okay I'm coming with." He started to protest but I shot him a glare. "Don't fight me. A presumably innocent girl is dead now. I'm helping." I said.

"Okay but you're getting a full detail. Commander McGarrett asked to personally be in charge of your detail."He said giving me a questioning look. I gave him a small smile.

"He's a SEAL, it'll help a lot. I have no problems with it. You're going to take Lola right?" I asked.

"Of course, nothing will happen to her. You know she's trained for these situations. We've got this. But right now we to head to the Palace." We got up and headed for the Palace. I should've known this was going to happen, everything was quiet for 5 years. Everything was too quiet.


	4. No More Secrets

I walked into Steve's house, it was a cute 2 story house in the Aina Haina neighborhood. He waked me into the kitchen and sat my bags down on a chair. "You stay put. I'm going to drop your bags in the guest room and put in some fresh towels in the shower for you. Need anything before I head up?" He asked.

"Um, coffee would be great." I said still staring at the view of the beach from his kitchen. He walked over to a counter and started a pot of coffee and pulled out two mugs. "Thank you, Commander." I said with a smile. He smiled back a warm, nice smile and took my bags upstairs. He came down just about five minutes later and I was sitting at the table drinking my coffee.

"So, how are you really?" He asked me genuinely concerned. I looked at him, then the table, then my cup, back to him a couple times. I let out a breath and decided it was time to tell someone other than Lola. He was already briefed anyways.

"I'm a mess." I chuckled. He looked at me and knew I had more. "It started in my third year of residency. I got a call right after rounds on a Wednesday morning. I answered even though I didn't recognize the number. Duke told me there had been an accident and I needed to get home as soon as I could. Well, being a resident that wasn't so easy. I called my CO and told him I needed to go and he said he'd clear it with my attending. I ran out of the hospital as fast as I could and sped home.

When I got there the door was in two pieces and paramedics and EMTs were bringing a body bag out. I later was informed that was my mother, I ran inside and saw the blood everywhere, there was so much. More than any operation I'd done thus far. Duke walked up to me, along with Special Agent Montgomery. There was another officer too. I think you guys had the same name. A John McGarrett I think. Duke told me that someone had broke in and murdered my mom and only took one thing. My dad. Everything else we owned weapons, tvs, appliances, technology, artifacts was left untouched. Because my father was military, the Navy decided it would be better left to the CIA, and that's where Lola comes in. Her and Montgomery took me into the living room and discussed her cover with me. She was to be my best friend. Protect me, keep Montgomery updated, do all the field work. That's why she always house sits for me when I'm deployed. They told me to resume life like it was normal, go to work, resume hobbies, don't bring attention to myself. So I stuck with Tripler and stayed in the military so I was always at the top of my game. For a year every Wednesday I had a new note from my dad's kidnapper waiting and they were always taunting little phrases. But never was it see you soon." Steve was silent for awhile taking everything in.

"John McGarrett was my father. He was shot 4 years ago by a man named Victor Hesse. I was on a mission to extract his bother. He called me while he had my father tied to a chair in the living room. He attacked my team by air and small arms, blew up one of my rigs. He told me he was taking his brother then. While we were under attack his brother tried to escape and I went after him. He grabbed a gun and I yelled at him to stop, don't do it. I had no choice but to shoot. I got him in the neck and he died right there. Victor was still on the phone with me when it happened. He knew his brother was dead and killed my father." He rubbed his face and shook his head. "After my dad's funeral the governor gave me the job to run this task force so I transferred to The Reserves and I've been doing that now for 4 years." He looked up at me and for the first time I realized I wasn't completely alone. We'd both been through hell and back and right now he wasn't the strong Commander everyone expected him to be, he wasn't one of the trained SEALs I'd learned to know. He was just a man sitting across from me dealing with the problems the universe handed him.

We sat for awhile talking about how we'd grown up and schools we went to and getting to know each other. We talked about past relationships, missions that we could talk about, my gory surgery stories, his gory days stranded somewhere. It was close to 1 in the morning before we decided to head off to bed. He walked me to the guest room which was just shortly down the hall from his room. It was nice, with a queen bed, bathroom, big closet. He had laid my bags at the foot of bed. I unpacked figuring I was going to be here for awhile.

I heard his shower turn on and decided I would do the same. I came out about 30 minutes later and Steve was standing in the doorway with just training shorts on. He was built, toned, muscular, very easy on the eyes. " Hello Sailor." I said to him. Something in his eyes sparked and I could feel tension. I was just in a tank top and underwear, its how I slept. I didn't expect visitors. He was looking at my legs, then my face, back down again.

"Uh, hey." He said clearing his throat. " I was just checking in, wanted to know you unpacked and everything was okay." He said looking down, scratching the back of his neck. I chuckled.

"Um, yes. I'm good. The dresser and shower weren't too hard to find." I said giving a slight giggle. He looked at me with a warm smile before laughing.

"Okay, smart ass. If you need anything I'm right next door. Good night." He said with a crooked smile.

"Good night, Sailor." I said with a smile of my own. He left the room and I turned the lights off setting my gun on the night stand. It was a precaution and a habit. I snuggled in under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

The dream started out like usual. I was running into my house except this time there were men in black suits and ski masks. I could never figure out who they were but I always saw the same thing. One gunshot to my mothers head, one man walking my dad out with a black bag over his head. They always walked around me like they couldn't see me. Like every other time after the left I would clean the house back up to make it spotless again, like my childhood home. I turned around and looked out the window and saw the black truck drive away. But this time was different, this time there was one man in the back who looked directly at me and made a shooting motion with his hand. Then the truck drove away. I heard something near me and shot straight up gun in hand.

"Whoa, whoa Nala drop it. Drop the weapon." Steve's voice rang out in the dark and as he came closer I saw his outline then his face. I set the gun back on the night stand and tried to catch my breath. "I heard you mumbling about something and wanted to check on you. You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just, just the dream I always have about that day. But this time it was different." I told him.

"Different?"

"Yeah, this time there was a guy in the back of the truck and he looked directly at me and made the handgun motion with his hands and shot. I've never had that happen." I said finally stabilizing my breathing. He sat down beside me and put his hand on my leg. I looked at him with tears rimming my eyes. I let them fall this time because I just didn't have it in me to hold them back anymore. "I'm sorry." I said looking down.

"No, no it's okay." He put his fingers under my chin and lifted my face up to meet his. He was really close this time, so close I could almost touch his nose with mine. He took both thumbs and wiped the tears off my face. His hands lingered on each side of face. "You don't have to be strong around me." He whispered. My breath hitched and I looked up at him. He looked at me and down at my lips and I almost wanted to beg him to kiss me. He moved in a bit closer, we were nose to nose and I could feel his warm breath on my lips. It had been so long since I'd had any type of emotional connection, any physical touch I didn't realize how bad I needed this.

"Steve." I said in barley a whisper. He grabbed my face and smashed his lips into mine. It was like a war, I kissed him, he kissed me, his tongue pushed, mine pushed back. We went at like that for a good ten minutes. I needed this. Physical touch, emotional connection. Something other than pain.


	5. Moonlight

We sat there staring at each other for awhile. The moon hit his skin just right, and his eyes glistened with something a little more than lust. He bent his head down and scooted back a couple inches. "Steve." I said reaching out to him. He looked up at me and almost looked scared. "Hey, you okay?" I asked him.

"Yes, it's just I'm supposed to be protecting you and emotions were never my thing. It's just, I don't want to call it a mistake just maybe it shouldn't have happened. At least not in these circumstances." He said looking at me with a longing look. I sat there perplexed by how this man was strong, unbreakable, but right now so vulnerable. He's been hurt, I get that. But who hurt him this badly? I reached out to touch his face and flinched but let me touch him anyways.

"Commander, you watch my back I watch yours. No one gets left behind. We're a team now, we need to trust each other, work together, protect each other. We're going to need each other for this, okay? It's going to be hell, worse than any battlefield but we'll get through this." Being strong is the only thing I know how to do. It's how I've gotten through everything, I can't break down now. I can't let him break down.

"You're an enigma Lieutenant. Something I look forward to learning well. Get some sleep, we got work to do in less than 6 hours." With that he left and went to what I presume was his room. I laid in bed staring at the ceiling for awhile waiting for sleep to take me under.

I woke up to the sun shinning through the windows, and the smell of coffee. I got up and pulled some shorts on, and made my way down stairs. Steve was pouring a cup of coffee and typing away on a laptop probably about some case or something. He looked up and saw me in the doorway, "Hey Sailor." I said with a smile. "Good morning, sleep well?" I asked.

"Like a baby." He said smiling back at me. I made my way over to the counter and poured my own cup. I popped some grass fed butter in my cup and sat down beside him. "and here I thought I was the only one who liked that stuff." He said smiling.

I was just about to talk when Danny and Lola walked in. "Good morning soldiers!" Danny said as he walked into the kitchen. "Ew, really? You too? You military people don't know how to have a normal cup of coffee, jeez." Danny and Lola laughed as they sat down with their own cups.

"Actually, grass fed butter is supposed to increase your focus and energy. Keeps the mind going." Steve and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and gave a nervous laugh.

"Well partner we got another case, wanna bring the good doctor with?" Danny asked. Steve sighed.

"Just one day, one day without crime. Yeah, we uh, we kinda have to be tied at the hip. Besides, she gives good insight." He said smiling at me. There was that look again,his eyes glistened with something other than lust and I couldn't quite figure it out. I think Lola and Danny noticed as well, they were staring at us staring at each other. "Okay, let's go." Steve said getting up and just like that the walls were up and the SEAL was in action.

Danny and Lola took his Camero, while me and Steve took his truck. We raced down the streets of Oahu until we reached Waimanalo Beach. Why are all these crimes on beaches jeez? "What ya thinking about?" Steve asked me.

"You ever realized how most of your crime scenes are beaches?" I asked.

"Yeah just easy places to dump bodies I suppose. Sometimes we have to go out on boats and yachts though. Those are pretty exciting. We've flown over to other islands though like Lanai, Maui, Sand Island. So we're not always on Oahu." He told me. Well at least he got to go around all the islands, every time I was here it was either Waikiki or Tripler.

"Is it always like this? Super busy, running, gun fights, back and forth on leads?"

"Yeah, most of the time. Much like the military, we always have to be ready to go in guns blazing. Plus the Governor gives us immunity and means, makes my job a lot easier. We're here." He said parking and hopping out. Always the action with these SEALs. We walked over to where Duke and HPD were and someone had a little too much fun with this murder.

There was a man, maybe early 30s with his knee caps busted by mot likely a hammer, there were track marks on his arms most likely a user or drugged. He was definitely going to be hard to get prints off of. Steve walked over to me and bent down. "What do we got?" He asked.

"Don't you guys have an M.E?"

"Yeah but I like you better." He said winking at me.

"Well however did this was after something. He has track marks so we'll need a tox screen and previous records to know if he was a user or drugged. His knee caps were busted by most likely a hammer or some other heavy tool. His head too. There's trauma there, a deformity in the back like he was hit from behind. Maybe a baseball bat was used. His hands were burned severely probably to hide prints and cover tracks. It's gonna be hard to pull prints. Maybe we'll get some dental records." I said standing up. This man was in deep with something, you don't just torture people this way for petty theft, or an argument. Something deeper was in play here. Steve seemed to think so too.

"Does he have a wallet?" Danny asked.

"No, I don't think so. At least not on him. I checked before I started examining. However, I did find a rental key for a room at the Hilton so I suggest going there first." I told them. "I came here for a week to relax, not this shit guys. I haven't even touched my board and I'll be damned if I go back without surfing." I said through gritted teeth.

"Well good doctor, what do you say we make a trip to the Hilton?" Danny asked.

"Well, I guess that's the only way we'll ever found out who did this." I said.

"Well if were bringing you guys were gonna need to get you some tac gear." Steve said. I hate tac gear. It's handy and bulletproof, but its heavy when loaded with ammo, makes my back hurt. But I'd rather have back pain than be dead.


	6. The Hilton

We all arrived at the Hilton and walked inside. We were greeted by two others, "Nala, Lola, meet Chin and Kono." Danny said.

"Sorry we have to meet under these circumstances." Kono said.

"Well better here than an operating room, I suppose." I said. Kono and Chin both looked at me with there heads cocked to the side.

"She's a surgeon." Lola said with a chuckle. I forget to introduce myself as a doctor, most of the time I'm meeting people who are unconscious.

"The doc has a gun?" Chin said, chuckling.

"Oh, I'm an Army Surgeon, and before that I did Intel for 2 years and combat for 2 other years. I was everywhere." I said.

"If you're done chatting I'd love to bust this door." Steve said, deadpanned. Like damn, okay. He busted the door down and we rushed in.

"Clear!" Danny yelled, followed by Kono, then Chin. They all came into the bathroom where I was. "I think we found our primary crime scene, must've been trying to get clean, but all he got was dirty." We all looked at Danny with annoyed glares. "Okay, okay." He said hands raised.

"Okay, Kono call CSU and get them down here to process. We need to get to the M.E.s office and see what's up with the autopsy." Steve said. We arrived at the M.E.s office and I was greeted by Dr. Max Bergman.

"It is nice to finally meet you Dr. Kekoa. I've heard great things!" Max said. He was a short man, kind of odd but a good doctor nonetheless.

"Call me Nala, only my soldiers call me Dr. Kekoa. How are we on iding our vic? I asked.

"Well the severity of the burns made it impossible to pull prints, facial recognition had no hits so I did dental. His name is Johnathan Moore." Max said. "Cause of death was trauma to the head most likely by a dull kind of weapon. However I did find something interesting, he was loaded with morphine. That explains the track marks, but it doesn't explain why the killer would do that."

"So, whoever did this jacked him up with morphine just to kill him? That makes no sense." Steve said.

"Actually, look at his knees, they're caved in. It's possible that the killer could've given him morphine because Mr. Moore here couldn't take the pain, so he'd pass out. However, the killer couldn't have that because he needed Johnathan for something. Max did you check him for pulmonary edema?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"He overdosed on morphine. Morphine abusers need at least 200mg to overdose if there's a tolerance. Johnathan only has about 70mg. That being said, if he was hit in the back of the head they hit him just right not causing any lasting damage. They hit him to knock him out, and take him wherever, then tortured him, then used morphine to kill him. So I'm thinking our killer has medical knowledge." I said. Steve was looking at me wide eyed, then walked out of the room. I followed him and we made our way to the truck.

"Why were you looking at me like that?" I asked laughing.

"You're impressive. You know I get shot at a lot, the team does too. If you ever leave the Navy I can pull some strings with the Governor and maybe get you as the team doctor." He said laughing.

"You guys really get hurt that much? Christ, I don't know about all that." I said laughing. It was a nice thought though, working with Steve definitely had it's perks.

"Oh yeah! Trust me it gets more exciting than this. Wait til you get shot at." He said with a dry laugh. "Tell you what, anytime you need a job Five O has a spot for you. Plus you already know how to fight baddies" He said laughing.

"Baddies?" I asked with a laugh.

"Bad guys. You tell Danny I said that I will starve you for the rest of the week." He said laughing, and giving me that playful smile.

"You got it, Commander." I said laughing. It's been awhile since I've laughed like this. We made it to the Palace and met everyone at the next gen tech table.

"We got a hit on the Moore Case. The vic had some foreign DNA on him. Unfortunately, no doctor. But Kono dug a little deeper and Mr. Moore here is a pharmacists who likes to steal. His place was crawling with medication, so we're thinking the murderers knew who he was." Danny said.

"Great Danno, So-" Steve said, getting interrupted.

"Hey! Hey, why? Why do you insists on doing that, you know I hate it."

"Danny, it's a term of endearment. Plus it's catchy. Anyways, do we have any suspects?" Steve asked.

"Yes, yes we do." Chin piped up. "We got a hit on Interpol, meet Adlar Muller. Muller here is a German drug dealer, specializes in narcotics and opiates." Chin explained.

"So, Moore has access to drugs and just doesn't give them up. Muller thinks torture him, he'll give it up. Moore doesn't give any to Muller and he kills him." I said.

"Yeah, I think that's our best theory. We have an address?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, 2119 Randall Drive, Honolulu. From our searches it's just an abandoned warehouse." Kono said.

"Alright, let's go. Gear up. You too, Lieutenant. It's tie for the action, also you'll need theses." Steve said handing me a SIG Sauer P226 X300 (Navy sidearm) and a MP7 (machine gun). I strapped the Sauer to my thigh holster and strapped the MP7 over my shoulder.

We got to the warehouse and pulled out thermal identifying devices. "I have at least 5 thermals on the first floor and 6 on the second." Kono said.

"Okay, let's go." Steve said. We ran for the front door and Steve busted down the door, Danny was in first already shooting, I positioned my handgun and went in after Chin. I shot two men in the shoulder, nothing vital and zip tied them. "Adlar Muller, you've been surrounded." Steve yelled. Muller stepped out hands raised in surrender. Just as Steve went to cuff him, he shot Steve point blank in the chest. There were a rain of gun shots, Steve was on the ground and I was running. I was running into the fire and towards Steve.

"Steve! Steve, can you hear me?" I yelled, frantically pulling off his gear. I ripped open his shirt revealing a chest wound. "I need an ambulance, I need to get him to Tripler!" I yelled. I took his shirt off and held it to the wound. "I need that ambulance!" I yelled. I faintly heard sirens and then I saw the paramedics. "GSW to the chest. His pulse is faint." I said. I hopped into the ambulance with them and headed off to Tripler.


	7. How To Save A Life

I arrived and put on some scrubs and headed for the O.R. I walked into my O.R. team at the ready. "He's a SEAL and you guys know how I feel about them, this one is especially special. Let's save a life. 10 blade, please." I said and got to work.

5 extensive hours later I was in front of the team "Steven had a sucking chest wound and collapsed lung. The bullet grazed his left ventricle. We had some touch and go, he's hooked up to a bunch of machines right now, but he's going to make it. You guys got yourself a fighter. He's still unconscious, but he should be up in a few." I said. Danny was the first to hug me even though I was covered in blood, followed by Kono and Chin and other people I hadn't met. I walked into Steve's room right as he was waking up."Hey there, Sailor. You gave me quite a scare there for awhile. You remember what happened?" I asked.

"Um, I got shot. Then nothing." He said in a raspy voice. I smiled down at him and sat on the end of the bed.

"Well you had a sucking chest wound, I gave you a chest tube, some stitches on your left ventricle, some more stitches and patches." I said chuckling. "You kept trying to die on me by the way, I had to use the paddles three times you ass!" I said very gently nudging him. "But, I'm glad you're okay. Honestly if you died on table, I don't think I would ever come back to surgery, or here." I said wandering around the room with my eyes.

"I'm pretty hard to kill, you know. I told you I get shot a lot." He said chuckling and grunting.

"Careful those stitches will come lose." I said lifting up his gown to check the wound.

"Hey! At least take me on a date first."

"I would if you hadn't gotten shot." I said looking at him. He looked at my eyes, then my lips. He moved to get up, but I put my hand on his arm. "Don't. Not right now, you just had surgery." I whispered laying him back down.

"Then kiss me." He said. I leaned down to kiss him and his hand found my hair and the other my face. I brought my hands up to his face and cradled it for awhile. His tongue licked my bottom lip for entrance and I gladly gave in. We battled each other for awhile until Steve had to breathe. "Mmm, Nala. Nala, am I wearing underwear?" He asked groggy.

"Um no, I had to strip you sorry."I said straightening his gown out and situating his covers back over him. "Medicine kicking in?" I asked laughing. "You have some people who want to see you, by the way." I said nodding at the doorway. I stepped away from the bed and let them gather around it.

"Danny, buddy! Oh Danno don't look at me like that." Steve said.

"You literally almost died and you're telling me not to look at you. What the hell is wrong with you?" Danny said.

"Don't talk to me like that, I was almost killed."

"Yes, I know. I was there, if not for Nala you would've died you animal."

"I love you, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah I love you too partner."

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt but I gotta get his vitals and check his wound." I said laughing at the two of them.

"I thought nurses did that?" Kono asked.

"Uh, usually they do but he's a special patient and I'm not your typical surgeon." I said. With that they left and I went to work checking him over.

"You know, since you've seen me naked we should go on a date." Steve said, giving me that playful smile.

"Easy there, Commander. I have not seen you fully naked just your chest." I said laughing."Besides you gotta make it out of this hospital first." I said.

"Oh, I'll get out of here." He said reaching out for my hand. I let him hold it. "Where are you going to stay tonight?" He asked, running his thumb over my knuckles. His hands encompassed mine. I felt at ease with the warmth his touch gave me.

"Um, probably with Lo." I said, trying to focus.

"No, stay here. With me." He said, "Please?" Puppy dog eyes, fuck he has puppy dog eyes.

"Dammit McGarrett. Puppy dog eyes, really?" I said laughing.

"I can give you more than eyes once I'm cleared by my uh, doctor." He said visibly checking me out.

"Oh really, Sailor? You know doctors aren't supposed to fraternize with patients." I said playfully.

"Mhmm, yeah I think I can." He said gently tugging on my arm to pull me on the bed. I sat down beside him and ran my fingers through his hair. "You know just how to make a man better." He said groggily. He reached out and pulled me to him cuddling up and burring his face into my neck. I continued to run my fingers through his hair, and kiss his cheek here and there.

"I know, Sailor." I kissed his forehead one last time before he was asleep. I laid there for awhile before drifting to sleep myself. It was the first time I didn't dream. I felt safe and warm, I felt at home. Steven McGarrett was my home. I was home.


	8. Recovery

I woke up to Steve playing with my hair and kissing me on my cheeks. I opened my eyes to him rubbing his nose against mine. "Good morning, Commander." I said giggling.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." He said pulling me closer to him. "How'd you sleep?" He asked.

"I slept like I was home." I said without realizing what was coming out of my mouth. "I slept well, no dreams or anything." I said trying to change the focus of that one sentence, but of course the SEAL caught it.

"Home, huh?" He asked as he brushed his thumb across my cheek. I laid my head in his palm allowing myself to feel some kind of comfort and vulnerability. "I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of being someone's home." He said gently kissing my forehead. A tear escaped my eye as he broke down all my walls.

"You break my walls down, and I don't know how to stop it." I said looking up at him. He was giving me that look again, I searched his eyes for any answers. "Why do you always look at me like that?" I asked.

"What look is that?" He said with a crooked smile.

"It's something like affection, and something else I can't explain." I said.

"Well, if I ever make it out of this hospital maybe I'll tell you." He said kissing me gently. "You go back in 4 days, you know?" He said with a kind of sadness he tried to hide.

"Yeah, I do. The transfer came through so I'll be going from Tripler to different deployments when they need me. I think I'll mostly be at Tripler though, so if you ever feel the need to see me just get shot again." I said with a playful laugh.

"I don't know about that Nala, can't I just take you on a date?" He asked chuckling.

"Oh the Commander can be romantic? According to Danny you don't have a romantic bone in you" I said laughing.

"Don't talk to that asshole, he doesn't know anything." He said laughing. I got up and Steve tried to protest, but I shot him a glance and I think he might have coward back a little. Smart ass.

"Okay Sailor, I've got to check, clean,and redress that big ass thing I put on your chest." I said.

"Yeah, thanks for that by the way." He said.

"Oh hush you would've died you big baby, speaking of which how's your pain level, still good?" I asked.

"Yeah, nothing hurts anyways." He said laughing.

"Good." I said and took off the previous wound dressing. "This might burn a little bit." I said and he nodded at me. He flinched a bit at the irrigation, but overall took it as a trooper. "No sign of infection, or sepsis. I do believe you are in the clear. However, you just had heart surgery so you're still stuck here for awhile." I said while turning to enter information to his chart.

I was just about to turn around when I felt hot breath on my neck. A hand swept my hair from my neck, and the familiar feeling of Steve's facial hair and his lips swept over my neck to my ear. "You know, patience was never my strong suit." He said nipping at me ear. I turned around and he was fully dressed and ready to leave.

"Steve you can't-"

"Shh, hey I'll be okay. But I can't stay one more day in this hospital. I want my bed, with you in it."

"So you want to leave against medical advice?"

"Yes, give me the AMA." He said smiling.

"Oh okay." I went to get the AMA form from the nurses desk, and cam back to the room. Steve was sitting on the bed fiddling with a button on his shirt. "Steve? I have the paper." I walked into the room and headed for the the end of the bed. He looked up at me and gently took the pen and paper out of my hand. "You okay?" I asked.

"Uh, yes. Just ready to get out of here." He said with a nervous laugh. "Do I have any medications I need to pick up?" He asked.

"Yes. You will have a pain medication, Percocet. Then you will have an antibiotic, a Z-pack. Take the Percocet for 7 days every 4-6 hours as needed for pain, and the Z-pack you take 2 pills on the first day and then 1 pill everyday for 5 days. After you finish the Percocet, you may transition to Tylenol, Advil, Motrin things like that for pain." I explained. "Any questions?" I asked.

"Um no,you covered it like the good doctor you are." He said smiling at me. "When can you get out of here?" He asked.

"Well um, now actual. You're my only patient." I said chuckling.

"Okay, go get changed I'll be by the doors waiting for you." He said, kissing me gently. I went to get changed and it felt so good to be out of those scrubs. I finally get to go home and shower and be out of this damn hospital. I'm on vacation, jeez. I met Steve by the doors and he grabbed my hand and we walked out to my car. "A Jeep, look at you Lieutenant." Steve said with a whistle. I smiled and helped him into the passenger seat. "I hate not driving." Steve grumbled.

"Oh hush, my car I drive." I said.

"Danny let's me drive."

"Well that's because you two are married and he's not conditioned to endure the next 15 minutes of your whining." I said.

"Oh, I whine?"

"Yes, only when you don't get your way though."

"I do not whine."

"And I'm not a doctor."

"Smart ass."

"Asshole."

"Can you cook?"

"Um, yes?"

"Christ your perfect." He said. We had just parked in his driveway and I looked at him surprised. "What? You don't get compliments?" He asked.

"Not of that nature, come on lover boy." I said. "Are you hungry?" I asked him.

"Yes, but I don't think I want food. I think I want something a little sweeter." He said wrapping me in his arms and kissing me. I was surprised by the passion and intensity. I let out a gasp of air from the sensual attack. Steve kissed me deeper, harder, tangling his hands in my hair. Oh God, this man is going to make me lose it.


	9. In The Dark

"Steve you just had open heart surgery." I said breathlessly. "You'd be surprised how fast I bounce back." He said kissing me again.

He picked me up and pushed me against a wall. His hands wandered down my hips and to my ass. He cupped my ass and kissed me harder. I tangled my hands in his hair, opening my mouth to give his tongue entrance. He let's go of my legs and turns me around. He sweeps my hair to one side, and kisses my ear, nibbling on it gently. "I've wanted this since I first saw you." He said. His warm breath on my ear made me shiver, he steadied my with his hands on my hips. "Mmm, you'll have to learn to keep still" He whispered as he trailed kisses down my neck to my exposed shoulders. "This needs to come off." He said tugging at my tank top. I lolled my head back against his chest and let him take the shirt off. He ran his hands down my back, and back up again. I let out a groan as he nipped my shoulder. "This needs to come off as well." He said and took of my bra. His hands were so warm, and soft. Not what I would've expected. He cupped my breast and I almost came undone, the gentle and sensual touch felt so good. I let out a small moan and felt Steve smile against my shoulder. "You like that Lieutenant?" He asked.

"Yes." I said, yes dear God I do.

"Yes what?" He asked, oh God.

"Yes, Commander." I let out hoarsely.

"Good girl." He said kissing down my back. Good girl? Oh fuck, he's amazing. He got to the waist band of my shorts and skimmed over it. He ran his hands up my legs and underneath my shorts, forcing me to lean against the wall. I can't keep standing through this torture. He groped my ass again and I let out a loud breath. "You have a fine, fine ass Lieutenant. I'd love to spank it."

"Spank it?" I asked breathlessly.

"God, yes." He said huskily. He wrapped his hands around my hips pulling me flush against him. He grabbed my hand and walked me over to the couch, he sat down and stared at me with affection and lust. He bent me over his knees, draping his leg over mine. He pulled down my shorts and underwear, leaving them around my ankles. "Put your hands by your hand." I did as I was told. "Good girl." That alone could undo me. He rubbed my cheeks first, then firmly smacked one and then the other. After each smack he would rub my cheek and soothe the pain, then continue. With each smack I would pant or cry out, but never told him to stop. After one final hard smack he rubbed my ass and kissed it gentle. "Stand, please." He said helping me up. He took the clothes around my ankles off and ran his hands up my legs to my hips. "You're beautiful, Nala." He said eyes never leaving mine. My breath caught in my throat. He amazed me every second I was with him, rough, then tender. Forceful, then gentle. He was an anomaly I was dying to figure out.

He stood up and picked me up bridal style. He walked us up the stairs and to his room. He laid me gently on the bed and took his shirt off throwing it in the floor somewhere. He crawled in bed beside running his hand over my thighs back up to my breast. He massaged them and tugged and plucked at my nipples. I arched myself into his hands and moaned. He took the opportunity to kiss along my neck, across my jawline, and to my lips. He positioned his self between my legs and kissed my harder and deeper. I tangled my hands in his and scratched my nails down his back and up again. I was rough and left scratches that bled. He kissed his way down my neck leaving obvious hickies I was going to have to cover up later, he kissed down to my breasts, leaving hickies in his trail. Every time he bit down I would moan and dig my nails a little deeper. He groaned with ever scratch, gripping my hips a little harder. The pain and pleasure went so well together I lost myself in him. Taking one breast in his mouth, he twirled his tongue around the nipple and grazed his teeth against it. I panted and arched my back against the sensation.

"Mmm, Nala. You sweet, sweet woman." He said taking his mouth to the other breast and continuing the sweet torture.

"Steve, I can't take much more." I said panting between each word.

"Patience, love." He said kissing down my body until he reached my hips. He left hickies on my hip bones and traveled down to the apex between my thighs. He kissed my thighs, and nipped at them leaving less obvious love bites. He worked his way up and found his self in the middle of my thighs. I tangled my hands in his hair, anticipating the sweet torture that was about to come. He kissed my outer lips and I cried out. He continued to gently kiss and lick my outer lips until I was squirming. He held my hips down with his hands and continued.

"Steve, fuck. I can't-" I panted trailing off. It all felt so good, and I couldn't remember a time anybody ever made me feel this way. He flicked his tongue out and I bucked my hips against his mouth. He held my down tighter and continued to slowly lick and suck on the bundle of nerves between my inserted a finger, then two pumping in and out with the rhythm of his mouth. "Fucking hell." I said trying not to move, it was damn near impossible. He kept going until I couldn't take it anymore. "Steve. Steven, I'm about to-" I said trying to finishing my thought, but coming up empty.

"Come for me , Nala." He said and I came undone. My world shattered around me and my body shock with every wave of pleasure that crashed into my core. After what felt like hours, I opened my eyes and Steve was on top of me smiling. "I'm not done with you, Lieutenant." I laughed and threw my arms around his neck.

"Whatever you want, Commander." I said in a sultry, seductive voice. His eyes darkened and he ripped his jeans off, and threw them on the floor. He climbed back on top of me and pulled on a condom, his positioned himself at my entrance and slowly slid in. God, he felt good.

"Stop playing it safe Doctor, I want to see you lose control." He whispered into my ear, just as he made the first thrust. "Fuck, Nala. You feel so good." He said thrusting in and out. I ran my hands down his back and found his ass. I squeezed and he thrust harder, deeper and I was starting to come undone again. "Get on your stomach, ass up." He instructed. He grabbed my hips and slid inside again, and it was a whole new feeling. His thrust were deeper, harder, and more forceful. He gripped my hair and exposed my neck. He was kissing and biting my neck again, and I was coming undone.

"Fuck, Steve. I'm about to-" I was cut off with a scream of my own, screaming out his name as I came. He pounded into me harder and harder through a never ending orgasm. The waves kept crashing and he was getting closer, and closer to hid own orgasm.

"Fuck Nala." He groaned as his own orgasm rocked him. He slumped over my back for awhile before rolling me on top of him. I laid my head on his chest and just listened to him breathe for awhile. "Mmm Nala, you should lose control all the time." He said kissing my forehead. "Come on, let's take a shower." He said.

We got up and headed for his shower. I let the hot water wash over me and noticed the scar I put on Steve's chest. "Does it hurt?" I asked.

"No, pain meds you gave me rock" He said with a laugh. I traced over the scar and let my hand linger on his chest.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." I said looking up at him. He placed his hand over mine and held it against his heart.

"You know, without you my heart wouldn't still beat. You saved my life Nala, don't be sorry." He said pulling me into him. I was comforted by the strong, steady beat of his heart. "I wouldn't be alive without you." He said kissing the top of my head.

I was falling in love with Steve, and that scared the hell out of me.


	10. Adrenaline

I woke up and Steve was still laying in bed beside me. I looked over at him and noticed the beads of sweat and paleness. "Steve, get up. Steven get your ass up!" I said. He twitched and moaned. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Okay." I got up and sprinted across the room and called 911 then Tripler telling them I was going to be there and be on standby. I rushed around and got dressed, put a t-shirt on Steve and got his shoes on. "You're going to be okay, okay?" I was mumbling and rushing around and finally the paramedics got there. "Pulse is thready, I think he's rejecting the antibiotics." I said running my face over my hands.

We got to Tripler and I was in scrubs in record time. I got leads on Steve, then went to work on blood tests immediately. "Rush those labs, I want to know what the hell this is." I said to my nurses. I was checking his incision when I noticed the faint redness, and swelling. "Shit, his got an infection. Okay, I need IV antibiotics and a resident. Also, have someone call Detective Danny Williams." I said I was just about to clean the surgical incision when he crashed. "Code blue! Someone call a code blue! Hit the fucking button!" I was yelling at my nurses and I never do that, I was freaking them out. "Okay, I need paddles guys. Charge to 250. Clear. No sinus. Charge to 300. Clear. We have sinus." I exhaled. "Okay, I need an O.R. now, and I need a thoracotomy set up." I said.

I was running with Steve on a gurney to the elevator when I passed Danny and it felt like time stopped. I saw the fear, and tears spill, and then the anger, and I was in the elevator toward surgery. There was something wrong and I couldn't figure it out. If it's an infection, it's one hell of an infection. He could've thrown a clot, God I hope it's not kidney or lung failure. "Okay guys, I'm going to scrub I want him under anesthesia and prepped when I get back. We are going to dig and search until I find what the hell went wrong." I said and walked into the scrub room.

"Dr. Kekoa he's crashing again!" Beth my nurse said.

"Dammit Steven! Paddles charge to 300." I shocked him and got sinus rhythm."We have sinus, let's get this started if he's going to keep doing this." I made quick work of opening the thoracic cavity and found the problem. "Clot, he threw a fucking clot last night. Fuck, pulmonary embolism." I said searching for the end of the clot. "Okay Beth, I need forceps, and kidney bowl." I said. I dug into the clot and pulled it out, the thing was at least 4 or 5 inches long. "This is the biggest clot I've ever seen. I'm surprised he's alive." I said looking down at Steve. "Damn Sailor, you are a fighter." I said and went looking for any other damage. "Okay, no other complications that I can see. Let's close."

I made my way to Steve's room and he was knocked old cold, I laid my papers down and started charting his vitals.

"Nala." Steve mumbled. I turned around at the sound of my name, but Steve was still out. I walked over to him and sat down. I took his hand in mine, kissing his knuckles gently.

"You're going to be okay." I said gently laying my hand on his face. He gently moved his head to lay it in my palm like he knew I was there. "I'm right here, Steve." I gently murmured.

I sat there for awhile, charting and holding Steve's hand. He made a small movement and I jerked up, his eyes were half open and trying to look at me. "Hey you, it's okay you can sleep darling." He looked up at me, trying to smile like the Super SEAL he is.

"Nala, where am I?" Steve asked.

"Um, you're in the hospital. I haven't informed the team yet that you're awake. They're all sleeping in the waiting room. Do you want me to wake them?" I asked gently. He was reaching for my other hand and I gave it to him. He pulled them up to his chest and just held my hands there.

"Mm, Nala." He said. "Not just yet, let them sleep." He said gently nodding off. After about two hours I escaped to the waiting room to check on the team. As I entered I was bombarded by questions.

"Hey guys. Guys. Guys! Hey!" They all stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. "Okay, uh, so, Steve is asleep at the moment but he's going to be okay. If you guys would like to see him he's in recovery." I said and they practically ran me over to get to him. I wandered around for awhile getting coffee, and a bite to eat. Danny walked into the doctor's lounge and sat across from me. "Hey Danny?" I said cocking my head to the side.

"Hey, so uh, he's awfully pale. Is he supposed to look like that?" he asked me.

"Let's go see. I need to make rounds anyways." I said grabbing my folders and leading the way to Steve's room

"Hey guys. I see you're awake, Commander." I said standing at the foot of the bed.

"What's all those papers and files?" Danny asked.

"This is Steve's file. You've been injured. A lot. So, I'm uping your antibiotic because you have a small infection, also you are now on Heparin." I said.

"Heparin? What the hell is Heparin?" Steve asked.

"Okay, here's what happened."I said with a sigh. "Sometime last night, or early this morning you threw a clot, resulting in pulmonary embolism. A blood clot that started in your leg made it's way to your lungs, I advised you to stay here and you were too stubborn. I got in there and pulled the whole thing out and there's nothing else as far as I can see that shouldn't be in there. The Heparin is going to help your blood thin and avoid clotting. Also you crashed on me twice, I'm getting tired of that. Now that you have had open heart surgery twice you have got to stay here for a week or two depending on your recovery. After that you will need a six week recovery period, that means you're riding the desk Sailor. Any questions?" I asked.

"Um, you mean he's not going to be able to do anything stupid?" Danny asked.

"Yes, no superhero moves or getting shot at." I said. "How is your pain? Any problems?" I asked Steve.

"Um, no. I feel good, just extremely tired." He said mumbling.

"Alright guys, let the Super SEAL rest." I said and ushered them out.

"Nala tell me, is he really going to be okay?" Danny asked me.

"Yes, of course. We're out of the woods now I'm going to be here with him as long as I can." I said smiling and giving Danny a hug. I watched him walk away with Grace and smiled to myself. I walked back into the room and Steve was knocked out cold. I changed his wound dressing and checked all of his medications to make sure everything was right. I took his vitals and charted everything. He was so much sweeter sleeping, made my heart flutter a bit.

I walked out of his room and made my way to the nurses station. "Hey Beth, if Steve wakes up before I return tomorrow tell him I went home to shower, eat, and sleep." I said. She nodded her head, I tapped the desk and headed to the doctor's lounge to grab things and head home.


	11. Capture

I stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage when I heard a faint footstep. I turned to the direction it came from but saw nothing, I went to walk towards my car again and suddenly everything went black. When I woke I was in a solid white room, no visible door, no visible windows, I couldn't find where the florescent light was coming from. I stood up and instantly grabbed my head, it started to pound and I was dizzy. I pushed through the pain and nausea, and traced the walls for a door.

A crackle made it's way through the room and I stopped instantly. "Welcome Lieutenant, it's so good to finally meet you." It was a man, soft spoken, I felt like I almost knew the voice I just couldn't place it. I was looking around frantically and making myself sick. "Slow down, I'm not going to hurt you. Just yet. I have some questions for you." The voice spoke again.

"What questions could you possible have, do I even know you?" I asked steadying my breathing. I positioned myself into a corner and focused on the wall.

"You know me very well, and my brother and sister, however they're dead now but you know that too." He said matter of fact like.

"Your brother and sister? I don't know what you're talking about!" I said trying to remember. "Did you take my dad? Are you the reason I no longer have a family?" I said panting.

"Oh come on now Nala, you have Steve, and Lola, and Five O. You're done asking questions." He said and the voice abruptly cut off.

"Wait, what? How do you-" I was screaming at this unknown voice. I was thinking about the Navy and how they don't know I've been kidnapped, Steve and Five O, Lola, nobody knows I'm missing. I slumped down into the corner and then a mist was coming in through a vent. I lifted my shirt up trying to cover up my mouth and nose, but it was no use everything went black and I was out again.

I woke up in a chair with my hands and feet bound to each arm and leg. I had an IV in my arm with an unknown drug pumping through me. I was groggy, but still trying to gain some amount of consciousness. I lifted my head up and he was there staring at me. "You. Of course it's you." I mumbled. I stared stone cold at this man I had trusted so much, the one person I trusted with my life other than Steve.

"You remember? That's good." He said sitting in front of me. "Does that mean you remember what happened in Kabul?" Kabul? That was so long ago.

"Kabul? That was so long ago. What happened in Kabul?" I asked dazed.

"You don't remember the attack on our convoy? The soldiers we lost that day?" He asked astounded.

"Yes, of course I remember. I just don't understand why you want to hurt me over it. I tried to save everyone I could, you were there! There was 12 of you and 1 of me."

"Yes, but you were the best! You saved everybody except two that day Nala! Two of the most important people to me!" He screamed. I flinched back and everything dawned on me.

"Nathan, no Nathan I tired so hard!" I said sobbing. "I just couldn't reach them and you know I would've died if I had gone back in that convoy." I said defeated. I couldn't save Michael and Amelia. Nathan's brother and sister, they died because I couldn't save them. "I tried so hard." I mumbled.

I took a hard punch to the stomach, and a smack to the face. I coughed and spit up blood. He reached for a taser like rod and jolted me right below my shoulder. I slumped down in defeat and tried to control the sobs begging to be let out. He punched me again hard enough to knock me over onto the floor. I groaned and tried to move back, but it was no use. He kicked and kicked at my ribs until I knew he had broken a couple. I gasped for air and felt another round of electricity run through me. He picked me up and positioned my head to where I was looking up at him, he cradled my face before smacking me over and over again. I spit out blood and more blood, I had spit so much blood out I thought I couldn't possibly have anymore in me.

He gripped my hair and slammed my head back against the chair. "You are going to be begging me to kill you when I'm done with you. You took everything away from me!" He spat in my face. I slumped forward and tried to stay conscious. He punched my stomach and I could feel the bruises I was already forming. I was feeling confused and clammy. My heart rate was increasing and I was losing oxygen, internal bleeding. I was bleeding somewhere, hell I was actually bleeding everywhere. I looked up at him and I saw three of him, he was still pumping a drug into me and I couldn't focus. I felt the jolt of electricity again, followed by another blow to the stomach. He tipped my head up and made me look at him. "Look at me. Yes, right here in my eyes. Hey, hey, wakey wakey, I'm about to torture you in every way the Navy taught me." Jesus Christ, of course he was. He hit me one last time across the face and I was out.


	12. Dear Father

When I woke up my father was sitting across from me with some scrapes and bruises. I tried to speak but nothing came out. I was gasping for air and I could feel my lungs burning with every breath. "Nala, baby, what has he done to you?" my father asked choking down a sob.

"Daddy." I said strained. "It's okay, I'm a Navy SEAL I'm trained to endure this." I said trying to chuckle. I groaned when I was hit by a force of pain to my lungs. "Daddy, I'm bleeding internally, I'm not gonna make it much longer. I think when he broke one of my ribs it might have punctured a lung. My left most likely. I need you to work with me on getting us out of here." I said looking at him.

"We're gonna get out of here baby, I promise." He said with a single tear falling down his cheek. My father was a tough Navy SEAL himself, he never cried. It tore me apart when he let that single tear fall. Nathan walked back in with a gun.

"We're gonna play a game of Russian Roulette, I've got a gun here loaded with one bullet. Let's play guys." He said with a tormenting smile. He was sick, he drove himself crazy over the guilt and anger he felt for me.

"Nathan, I'm not playing your fucked games." I said gasping for air. He walked over to me and placed the barrel right between my eyes.

"Oh yes you are, Nala. Sweet, perfect, innocent Nala." He said with venom. He pulled the trigger and I heard the gun click. "Hmm. maybe next time babe." He said laughing. I tried with all the force I had left in me to get myself out of the restraints.

"Nathan, how long have I been here?" I asked.

"What?" He asked.

"I said, how long have I been here?" I said through clenched teeth.

"About a day and half a night." He said looking at me confused. Good, good. Someone has to know by now that I'm missing. "Your turn pops!" Nathan said almost excitedly. He turned to my father and put the gun in the middle of his forehead. I was trying and trying to get out of my restraints, but I couldn't budge. I heard the trigger pull and screamed out what I could only explain as gurgling, bloody, scream.


	13. Finding Nala

Steve woke up in the hospital and noticed everybody but Nala. "Hey guys, it's good to see. Not to be rude, but where's Nala?" He asked. He looked around at everybody, who was looking around at everybody else. "No one knows?" He said, almost scared. "Guys, how do you not know? She's supposed to be under Protected Custody." He said. He jumped up and ripped all of his leads, and IVs out. "Guys let's go. HQ, we have to find Nala." He said as he rushed to put his clothing on. Danny was beside him helping, knowing damn well he couldn't do or say anything to keep Steve here.

"Okay Super SEAL. Hey, Hey! Steven, she's okay. She's the girl version of you... except better." Danny said.

"Better? How is she..? You know what, you're right she is better." Steve said trailing off. Danny looked up at Steve and knew, he knew Steven McGarrett had fallen in love with a Navy SEAL. He almost smiled, but realized Steve, Kono, and Chin were out the door. Just as soon as Danny ran to catch up he saw the nurses and doctors running to Steve's room.

Steve ran through Five O's building until he reached the super computer, he started pulling everything up on Nala. School records, driving records, all Naval Intel, doctor files, anything to tell him where she was. Joe White, Steve's commanding officer, walked through the doors looking like he was going to kill somebody. Shortly after, Lola and Agent Montgomery waltzed through the doors both in suits and on official duty. "Steve, where are we on finding Nala?" Joe asked.

"Joe? What? You know what, whatever. I don't know. I woke up and she as missing, I've been here all of five minutes and I'm nowhere. It's the kidnapper Joe. It has to be." Steve said through clenched teeth. He went into his office and paced, running his hands up and down his face, throwing files and oen cups and trying his best not to scream.

"Steve? Steven, hey look at me. Look at me." Danny said trying to get his attention.

"Danny, I don't know. I really don't. There has to be some clue, some way to find her. Daniel, I'm losing it and I've known her all of one week." Steve said trying to not to break. He knew it, he knew he loved her. It's been a week, and he was in love with this amazing, infuriating doctor who had saved his ass twice now. "I have to save her Danny, she saved me and I'm not leaving her now, not ever." He said and walked into the main room again. "Okay guys, look Nala was in combat right? that means she's seen action and I think we should start there. Nobody at the hospital, noody at Hickam, nobody at Pearl, nobody we know of wants to hurt her. But I bet somebody she hurt in action, or didn't save in action is out to get her." He said mulling over possibilities.

"Guys, she told me about this accident in Kabul." Lola said, "She didn't tell me anything classified, just that it was the worst day of her life. She had just gotten done with residency and was on a deployment, her convoy was hit and she saved ten of our guys, a couple children I think, but two of our guys were left in the convoy under rubble and debris. She said she tried everything, everything she possibly could but, she couldn't reach them in time. Another IED went off and she and the lives she saved are lucky to be alive. She almost died that day." Lola said, choking back a sob.

"Okay, we start there," Kono said.

"Kabul, of course, Kabul. When the team came back Nala stayed in her room, she only came out to eat and train, and if she was needed in the infirmary. For weeks she wouldn't talk or come out of her room, she lost a good friend that day. When the attack went down we lost Michael and Amelia Taylor, Nala an Amelia were very close as well as Michael and Nathan. Michael, Amelia, and Nathan were siblings, they did everything together since birth. Including the Navy, Michael and Amelia were the two Nala couldn't save." Joe said. "Nathan was the only survivor and he left the Navy after that mission." He sighed

"Okay, so maybe Nathan is holding a grudge. Nala couldn't save his family, so why not take her family away too?" Steve said. "We need to find Nathan Taylor."

"Okay, we have an address for a Melissa and Akela Taylor." Chin piped up. "122 West Lookout St. Lanai City." He said. "Nathan might be staying with his family, if not they'll know where to find him."

"Okay, let's gear up guys." Danny said


	14. Rescue Mission

"They'll find me, you know? They always do." I spat at him. Nathan was walking around like he hadn't just shot my father right in front of me.

"I'm almost impressed, Nala." He said. "You just watched me murder your father and yet you're not even bothered." He said with a chuckle. "Except, you are bothered because everybody you can't save haunts you. I remember those nights in your cabin, you fell apart in my lap and I held you until you fell asleep. But here, this Nala, she's so well put together. Navy trained, impeccable doctor, the greatest soldier since Steven J McGarrett, that's his name, right? The guy who is supposed to be saving you?" He asked amused.

"Nathan, there's so much more you don't know," I said. Willing him to get closer to me.

"Oh is there? I don't quite believe you." He said walking behind me.

"Well, why don't I just tell you," I said. He leaned down to my ear and I head-butted him, he stumbled back and that was the moment I needed. I loosened the restraints enough to get one hand out, he came back towards me and grabbed his head in my free hand and wrapped the restraint around his neck. He squirmed, and moved, trying to get free. I got my other hand out and freed my feet.

He shot up freeing himself and moved back in defense. I jumped up and went after him, landing blows and kicks. I noticed the taser he had electrocuted me with and jumped for it. I latched on just as he jumped on top of me, he tried pinning me down and I jabbed the taser into his side electrocuting him. He went limp beside me, and I used to the opportunity to move as far away as possible. I was up against the wall looking for exists and the only one being the door he came in through. He was getting up again, and coming towards me, it was so hard to fight him through the pain he inflicted. He was walking towards me and I ran and jumped at him getting my legs in the right position to flip and drop him. The hard impact jarred my body and I almost screamed, he shook his head and got up. His head was bleeding, along with his lip, and ear. I was tiring him out, just a little bit longer. He picked up a bucket and threw it at me knocking me down on my ass, he stalked over to me and picked me up and threw me into a wall. My vision was blurring and I could see him charging at me again, I ran at him and ducked just to the level m shoulder would jab into his ribs and tackled him to the floor. I threw my knees up on his shoulders pinning him and my hands latched around his throat. I squirmed and thrashed side to side, but my hands didn't budge. He went for something besides him, but I moved my knee down to his forearm and used the opportunity to grab the knife in my shoe. I took it out and I watched the terror in his eyes as he knew I was about to kill him. "Tell Michael and Amelia I said hi and sorry I couldn't join the reunion," I said and slit his throat. I got up and found the gun he was using, I found some ammo in a box on the table and loaded it.

I limped back to my father and untied his lifeless body, I moved him over to lay down by the wall I slumped against and laid the gun beside me. I took off my shirt assessing the injuries and damage, I had a lot of bruising and definitely a lot of wounds that were gonna scar. Somewhere in all the fighting, he managed a deep wound into my leg. I found the restraints and used them as a tourniquet for my leg, I held pressure to my leg and begged for Steve to find me. All I could do now was wait.

I woke up to a crash through the door and jerked up, gun pointed at Five 0. "Nala! Nala, it's me." Steve was saying holding my face, there were three of him in my view and as I looked around there were three of all of them. "Nala, are you okay?" He asked. I shook my head and tried to mumble something but it only came out as a whimper. I felt Steve's arms wrap around me to pick me up, I opened my eyes just long enough to see the love and fear in his eyes. I needed to tell him the extent of my injuries but I was fading in and out of consciousness.

With every bit of strength I had left, I brought my hand up to Steve's face and cupped his cheek. "Hospital." I managed before losing consciousness completely.

"Okay Nala, okay. I'll get you there I promise." Steve whispered into my hair as he kissed my cheek.


End file.
